Generation device, generation method, and generation program

ABSTRACT

A generation device includes processing circuitry configured to receive a plurality of inputs of road map data including longitude/latitude data on a road shoulder line and longitude/latitude data on a lane marker, and refer to the road map data, set a region surrounded by the road shoulder line to be a non-road region, and generate a first polygon indicating a lane region using data on two adjacent non-road regions and on a plurality of lane markers positioned between the two non-road regions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a generation device, a generation method, and a generation program.

BACKGROUND ART

In the related art, an inside/outside determination technique that determines whether certain coordinates are included within a certain polygon has been applied to a case where whether a polygon representing a road region includes geographic coordinates of a vehicle or the like is determined.

A related art method has been proposed in which the center line of a road is set as the center and a polygon having a predetermined width from the center line is generated as a polygon representing a road region (see, for example, NPL 1).

CITATION LIST Non Patent Literature

-   NPL 1: ArcGIS Pro “Buffer”, [searched on Feb. 20, 2020], Internet     <URL:     https://pro.arcgis.com/ja/pro-app/tool-reference/analysis/buffer.htm>

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

Here, determining on which lane of a road a vehicle is located is required for lane-by-lane congestion detection and the like. However, typically there is no lane in the center of a lane, and thus a sensor device such as an in-vehicle Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) cannot observe the center line of the lane, and related-art methods have constraints that the generation range of a polygon is limited. That is, because there is no data on the center line of the lane, the related-art methods fail to generate a polygon indicating the lane region, and there is a limit to the accuracy of lane congestion detection and the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the aforementioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a generation device, a generation method, and a generation program capable of generating a polygon indicating the region of a lane.

Means for Solving the Problem

To solve the problem described above and achieve the object, a generation device according to the present invention includes: a reception unit configured to receive a plurality of inputs of road map data including longitude/latitude data on a road shoulder line and longitude/latitude data on a lane marker; and a first generation unit configured to refer to the road map data, set a region surrounded by the road shoulder line to be a non-road region, and generate a first polygon indicating a lane region using data on two adjacent non-road regions and on a plurality of lane markers positioned between the two non-road regions.

A generation method according to the present invention is a generation method executed by a generation device. The generation method includes: receiving a plurality of inputs of road map data including longitude/latitude data on a road shoulder line and longitude/latitude data on a lane marker; and referring to the road map data, setting a region surrounded by the road shoulder line to be a non-road region, and generating a first polygon indicating a shape of a lane using data on two adjacent non-road regions and on a plurality of lane markers positioned between the two non-road regions.

A generation program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute: receiving a plurality of inputs of road map data including longitude/latitude data on a road shoulder line and longitude/latitude data on a lane marker; and referring to the road map data, setting a region surrounded by the road shoulder line to be a non-road region, and generating a first polygon indicating a shape of a lane using data on two adjacent non-road regions and on a plurality of lane markers positioned between the two non-road regions.

Effects of the Invention

In accordance with the present invention, a polygon indicating the region of a lane can be generated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a road coordinate management system illustrated in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating processing executed by components of a road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a definition of a non-road region.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a definition of a road.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for road coordinate conversion processing according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a lane polygon that is capable of being generated by the road coordinate conversion device.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary computer that executes a program to implement the road coordinate conversion device.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of a generation device, a generation method, and a generation program according to the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment described below.

EMBODIMENT

First of all, an embodiment will be described. A generation device according to the present embodiment refers to road map data including longitude/latitude data on a road shoulder line and longitude/latitude data on a lane marker, sets a region surrounded by the road shoulder line to be a non-road region, and generates a lane polygon (first polygon) indicating the region of the lane based on data on two adjacent non-road regions and on lane markers positioned between the two non-road regions.

Configuration of Communication System

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to the embodiment. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , a communication system 100 in the embodiment provides a PIP processing result D3 to a spatiotemporal analysis application 10, such as a lane congestion detection or GeoFencing, installed in a terminal device (not illustrated). The PIP processing result D3 is a result of determining a position of a vehicle in each lane in a certain road.

In the communication system 100, in accordance with spatial index search performed by the spatiotemporal analysis application 10, a road coordinate database (DB) 30 (Open Source Software (OSS)) in a road coordinate management system 20 outputs a road coordinate search result D1 including the lane polygon representing the lane region. A spatiotemporal DB 60 that accumulates information regarding vehicle data outputs a vehicle search result D2 including the coordinates of the vehicle, to the spatiotemporal analysis application 10.

Then, upon receiving the road coordinate search result D1 and the vehicle search result D2 from the spatiotemporal analysis application 10, a PIP processing module 70 executes PIP processing to determine in which lane of the road the vehicle is positioned, and outputs the PIP processing result D3. The spatiotemporal analysis application 10 performs the lane congestion detection, GeoFencing, or the like based on this PIP processing result D3.

Road Coordinate Management System

Next, the road coordinate management system 20 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the road coordinate management system 20 illustrated in FIG. 1 . As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the road coordinate management system 20 includes a road coordinate conversion device 50 and a road coordinate DB 30.

The road coordinate conversion device 50 stores a lane polygon indicating the region of a lane generated using road map data 40 including longitude/latitude information on a road shoulder line and longitude/latitude information on a lane marker and a mesh polygon (second polygon) for representing a spatial index in the road coordinate DB 30 in association with each other. The lane polygon is data indicating the coordinates of each vertex of a polygon indicating the lane region. The mesh polygon is data indicating coordinates of each vertex of the spatial index with a polygon shape divided in accordance with a predetermined accuracy.

The road coordinate DB 30 stores the mesh polygon and the lane polygon in association with each other. The road coordinate DB 30 has a spatial index search function, searches for the lane polygon using the spatial index as a search key, and outputs the result of the search as the road coordinate search result D1.

Road Map Data

Next, the road map data 40 will be described. The road map data 40 stores data pieces including data on a road ID, a lane ID, the number of lanes, the longitude and the latitude of the road center, the longitude and the latitude of the lane center, and the longitude and the latitude of the lane marker (white lines indicating ends of the road and a dotted line).

In the road map data 40, the longitude/latitude data is stored with attributes such as lane information, roadway information, lane marker, road shoulder line, intersection region, and road sign. The road coordinate conversion device 50 generates a polygon using lane information, roadway information, and longitude/latitude data of lane markers and road shoulder lines, among the data included in the road map data 40.

Road Coordinate Conversion Device

Next, referring back to FIG. 2 , a configuration of the road coordinate conversion device 50 will be described. Note that the road coordinate conversion device 50 is, for example, implemented by a computer including a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a central processing unit (CPU), and the like reading a predetermined program and by the CPU executing the predetermined program. The road coordinate conversion device 50 has a communication interface that transmits and receives various pieces of information to and from another apparatus connected via a network or the like. For example, the road coordinate conversion device 50 includes a network interface card (NIC) or the like, and performs communication with another apparatus via a telecommunication line such as a local area network (LAN) or the Internet.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the road coordinate conversion device 50 includes a reception unit 51, a lane polygon generation unit 52 (first generation unit), a mesh polygon generation unit 53 (second generation unit), and a storage unit 54. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating processing executed by the components of the road coordinate conversion device 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 .

The reception unit 51 receives an input of the road map data 40. The road map data 40 includes latitude/longitude data 40-1 on the road shoulder line, the lane marker, and the like, as illustrated in FIG. 3 for example.

The lane polygon generation unit 52 refers to the road map data 40 to generate a lane polygon (see, for example, 50-1 in FIG. 3 ) indicating the region of the lane.

The mesh polygon generation unit 53 generates a mesh polygon representing a spatial index.

The storage unit 54 stores, in the road coordinate DB 30, data (see, for example, 30-3 in FIG. 3 ) in which the data (spatial index) on the mesh polygon and the data on the lane polygon corresponding to the mesh polygon are associated with each other.

In this manner, the road coordinate conversion device 50 performs polygon generation, by generating the lane polygon using a white line such as the road shoulder line and the lane marker, and then performing filtering using the spatial index.

In the present embodiment, a “road” is defined as follows, and the lane polygon generation unit 52 determines the road and lane in accordance with the definition. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a definition of a non-road region. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a definition of a road.

First of all, a region surrounded by a road shoulder line is not a “road”, and that is a “non-road region” (see, for example, Ra in FIG. 4 ). When the distance between a road shoulder line and a road shoulder line adjacent to the road shoulder line is equal to or longer than 3 m (first distance), the section between the road shoulder line and the road shoulder line adjacent to the road shoulder line is a “road”. Specifically, when the distance between a road shoulder line A and a road shoulder line B is equal to or longer than 3 m, the section between the road shoulder line A and the road shoulder line B is a “road” (see (1) in FIG. 5 ). When the distance between a lane marker and a lane marker adjacent to the lane marker is equal to or longer than 3 m (second distance), the section between the lane marker and the lane marker adjacent thereto is a “lane”. Specifically, when the distance between a lane marker A and a lane marker B is equal to or longer than 3 m, the section between the lane marker A and the lane marker B is a “lane” (see (2) in FIG. 5 ).

The road coordinate conversion device 50 sets the region surrounded by a road shoulder line to be a non-road region (see, for example, Ra in FIG. 4 ), for generating a lane polygon. Then, the road coordinate conversion device 50 generates a lane polygon based on two adjacent non-road regions and data on a lane marker positioned between the two non-road regions.

Flow of Processing Executed by Road Coordinate Conversion Device Now, a flow of processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device 50 will be described in detail. FIGS. 6 to 16 are diagrams illustrating a flow of the processing executed by the road coordinate conversion device 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 .

First of all, how a lane polygon is generated will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 12 . FIG. 6 is a diagram in which, based on the longitude/latitude data on the road shoulder line and the longitude/latitude data on the lane marker of the road map data 40 used in the processing, each road shoulder line and each lane marker are displayed two dimensionally.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the road map data 40 often has road shoulder lines and lane markers partially depicted. Thus, the lane polygon generation unit 52 generates one road shoulder line by combining endpoints of two adjacent road shoulder lines when the distance between the endpoints of the two adjacent road shoulder lines is equal to or shorter than L (third distance) (see (1) in FIG. 7 ). Then, the lane polygon generation unit 52 adds a label to the generated road shoulder line (see (2) in FIG. 7 ). For example, the lane polygon generation unit 52 adds a label “r1” to a single road shoulder line “1” obtained by combining endpoints at three locations.

The lane polygon generation unit 52 combines endpoints of two adjacent lane markers when the distance between the endpoints of the two lane markers is equal to or shorter than L (fourth distance), and adds a label to the resultant lane marker. L is set, for example, to 3 m (average width of the lane). Note that the third distance and the fourth distance may be set to be different distances depending on the average width of a road or a lane.

The lane polygon generation unit 52 sets a region surrounded by a road shoulder line to be a non-road region (see (1) in FIG. 8 ), and obtains a polygon of the non-road region. Then, the lane polygon generation unit 52 adds a unique label to each non-road region where the polygon has been obtained (see (2) in FIG. 8 ). For example, the lane polygon generation unit 52 adds a label “h1” to a non-road region “1”.

The lane polygon generation unit 52 draws, in the outward direction of the non-road region, a vertical bisector for a line between a point n forming a side of each non-road region and a point n+1 adjacent to the point n. The point n and the point n+1 are set to be on a side of the non-road region at a predetermined interval, for example. For example, the lane polygon generation unit 52 draws a vertical bisector v1 in the outward direction of the non-road region h1 with respect to the line between the point n and the point n+1 in the non-road region h1 (see FIG. 9 (1)).

The lane polygon generation unit 52 stores a first non-road region A crossed by the vertical bisector, as well as all lane markers (including the road shoulder line) B crossed by the vertical bisector before reaching the first non-road region A. Specifically, the lane polygon generation unit 52 stores points c1 to c5 on the vertical bisector v1 of all the lane markers B crossed by the vertical bisector v1 before reaching a first non-road region h2, with the first non-road region h2 crossed by the vertical bisector v1 defined as A (see FIG. 10 ). Note that a point c6 is an intersection between the vertical bisector v1 and a side of the non-road region h2.

The lane polygon generation unit 52 calculates a distance between a starting point of the vertical bisector and a point on the lane marker B adjacent to the starting point, a distance between an intersection of the first non-road region A crossed by the vertical bisector v1 and a point on the lane marker B adjacent to the intersection, and a distance between points on the adjacent lane markers B. Then, when the distance calculated is equal to or longer than L (for example, 3 m which is an average lane width), the lane polygon generation unit 52 stores the distance with a label added to the points. The first half of the label indicates the non-road region which is the starting point of the vertical bisector and the first non-road region A crossed by the vertical bisector, and the second half of the label indicates the crossing order of the vertical bisector “n (1≤n≤N (maximum value)”.

First of all, as illustrated in FIG. 11 , the lane polygon generation unit 52 calculates a distance between a starting point c0 of the vertical bisector v1 and the point c1 on the adjacent lane marker B. In this case, the distance thus calculated is shorter than L, and thus the lane polygon generation unit 52 does not add a label. Next, the lane polygon generation unit 52 calculates a distance between the point c1 which is the first point crossed by the vertical bisector v1, and the point c2 which is the second point crossed by the vertical bisector v1. In this case, because the distance thus calculated is equal to or longer than L, the lane polygon generation unit 52 adds a label “h1→h2, first” to the point c1 and adds a label “h1→h2, second” to the point c2. By executing the same processing, the lane polygon generation unit 52 adds a label “h1→h2, third”, a label “h1→h2, fourth”, and a label “h1→h2, fifth” respectively to the points c3 to c5.

Then, the lane polygon generation unit 52 repeatedly executes the processing illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11 , with the starting point of the vertical bisector in the non-road region h1 moved by a predetermined distance each time the processing is executed. As a result, the labeled points are set on the lane marker to be separated from one another by a predetermined distance.

Next, the lane polygon generation unit 52 refers to the label added to each point, and clockwise combines, among the points to which the labels with the same first half are added, points having “n” and “n+1” as the crossing order indicated by the second half of the labels, to generate a lane polygon.

As illustrated in FIG. 12 , the lane polygon generation unit 52 clockwise combines, among the points on the lane markers between the non-road region h1 and the non-road region h2 to which the labels with the first half indicating “h1→h2” are added, points having “first” indicated by the second half of the labels and having “second” indicated by the second half of the labels. Thus, the lane polygon generation unit 52 generates a lane polygon 1. In addition, the lane polygon generation unit 52 clockwise combines, among the points on the lane markers to which the labels with the first half indicating “h1→h2” are added, points having “second” indicated by the second half of the labels and points having “third” indicated by the second half of the labels, to generate a lane polygon 2.

In this manner, the lane polygon generation unit 52 generates a plurality of lane polygons from longitude/latitude data on road shoulder lines and lane markers in road map data.

Next, how the mesh polygon generation unit 53 generates a mesh polygon will be described with reference to FIG. 13 to FIG. 15 . Upon receiving the input of the accuracy (number of digits) of the spatial index (geohash), the mesh polygon generation unit 53 determines the mesh division size in accordance with the accuracy thus input.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13(a), upon receiving the input of an accuracy of 15 digits for the latitude and 14 digits for the longitude, the mesh polygon generation unit 53 determines the mesh division size of 1.25 km×1.25 km. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13(b), upon receiving the input of an accuracy of 18 digits for the latitude and 17 digits for the longitude, the mesh polygon generation unit 53 determines the mesh division size of 150 m×150 m.

The mesh polygon generation unit 53 then generates a mesh polygon for representing all geohashes in accordance with the determined mesh division. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the case of the accuracy of 15 digits for the latitude and 14 digits for the longitude, the mesh polygon generation unit 53 determines a polygon with the size of 1.25 km×1.25 km. For example, of a plurality of polygons, a polygon 10 has coordinates of the vertices of the polygon set to be (x1, y1), (x2, y1), (x2, y2), and (x1, y2).

Then, the mesh polygon generation unit 53 stores a lane polygon in an “Intersect” relationship with each mesh polygon. An Intersect function according to JIS or the like is assumed as the Intersect. As illustrated in FIG. 15 , the mesh polygon generation unit 53 stores lane polygons of lanes 3 to 10.

The storage unit 54 stores, in the road coordinate DB 30, each spatial index and a lane polygon corresponding to each spatial index. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 16 , for the polygon 10, the storage unit 54 stores, in the road coordinate DB 30, data 30-3 in which the spatial index of the polygon 10 and the lane polygons of the lanes 3 to 10 in the Intersect relationship with the polygon 10 are associated with each other.

Processing Procedure of Road Coordinate Conversion Processing FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for road coordinate conversion processing according to the present embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 17 , the road coordinate conversion device 50 receives the input of the road map data 40, and executes processing of generating a lane polygon. First, the lane polygon generation unit 52 refers to the road map data 40, and executes processing of combining the endpoints of two adjacent lane markers or the endpoints of the two adjacent lane markers when the distance between the endpoints of the two road shoulder lines or the distance between the endpoints of the two lane markers is equal to or shorter than L, and adding a label to the resultant road shoulder line or lane marker (step S1).

The lane polygon generation unit 52 executes processing of setting a region surrounded by a road shoulder line to be a non-road region, obtaining a polygon of the non-road region, and adding a label to the non-road region where the polygon has been obtained (step S2). The lane polygon generation unit 52 draws, in the outward direction of the non-road region, a vertical bisector for a line between a point n and a point n+1 forming a side of each non-road region (step S3).

The lane polygon generation unit 52 stores a first non-road region A crossed by the vertical bisector, as well as all lane markers B crossed by the vertical bisector before reaching the first non-road region A (step S4). The lane polygon generation unit 52 calculates a distance between the starting point of a vertical bisector and a point on the lane marker B adjacent to the starting point, a distance between an intersection of the first non-road region A crossed by the vertical bisector and a point on the lane marker B adjacent to the intersection, and a distance between points on the adjacent lane markers B, stores the distances when the calculated distances are equal to or longer than L, and adds a label to the points (step S5). The lane polygon generation unit 52 repeatedly executes the processing in step S3 to step S5, with the starting point of the vertical bisector in the non-road region h1 moved by a predetermined distance each time the processing is executed.

Next, the lane polygon generation unit 52 refers to the label added to each point, and clockwise combines, among the points to which the labels with the same first half are added, points having “n” and “n+1” as the crossing order indicated by the second half of the labels, to generate lane polygons (step S6).

Next, upon receiving an input of the accuracy (number of digits) of the spatial index (geohash), the mesh polygon generation unit 53 determines the mesh division size in accordance with the input accuracy (step S7). The mesh polygon generation unit 53 then generates a mesh polygon for representing all geohashes in accordance with the determined mesh division (step S8). The mesh polygon generation unit 53 stores a lane polygon in an “Intersect” relationship with each mesh polygon (step S9).

Then, the storage unit 54 stores, in the road coordinate DB 30, each spatial index and a lane polygon corresponding to each spatial index (step S10), and the road coordinate conversion device 50 terminates the road coordinate conversion processing.

Effects of Embodiment

As described above, the road coordinate conversion device 50 according to the embodiment refers to the road map data including the longitude/latitude data on the road shoulder line and the longitude/latitude data on the lane marker, sets a region surrounded by the road shoulder line to be a non-road region, and generates a lane polygon indicating the region of the lane based on data on two adjacent non-road regions and on the lane markers positioned between the two non-road regions.

In the present embodiment, road shoulder lines and lane markers that are white lines detectable by an in-vehicle sensor device such as LIDAR are used, whereby the lane polygon indicating the lane region can be accurately generated compared with a related-art method using the center line of the lane.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a lane polygon capable of being generated by the road coordinate conversion device 50. As illustrated in FIG. 18 , the region surrounded by the road shoulder line is set to be a non-road region, a lane polygon is generated based on this non-road region, and thus a lane polygon for a circled portion between non-road regions can be accurately generated. As a result, in the communication system 100, the lane polygon generated accurately by the road coordinate conversion device 50 is used, whereby accuracy can be improved for the lane congestion detection and the like.

The road coordinate conversion device 50 generates a mesh polygon representing a spatial index, and stores, in the road coordinate DB 30, the data on the mesh polygon and the data on the lane polygon corresponding to the mesh polygon in association with each other. Thus, the road coordinate DB 30 can output, to the spatiotemporal analysis application 10, the road coordinate search result D1 including a lane polygon that accurately represents the lane region.

Then, the road coordinate conversion device 50 determines that a section between two adjacent road shoulder lines is a road when the distance between the two road shoulder lines is equal to or longer than the first distance, and determines that a section between two lane markers is a lane when the distance between the two lane markers is equal to or longer than the second distance. In this manner, the road coordinate conversion device 50 can appropriately generate a lane polygon to properly determine the road and lane.

The road coordinate conversion device 50 combines endpoints of two adjacent road shoulder lines when the distance between the endpoints of the two road shoulder lines is equal to or shorter than L, and combines endpoints of two adjacent lane markers when the distance between the endpoints of the two lane markers is equal to or shorter than L. The road coordinate conversion device 50 combines incomplete road shoulder lines and lane markers in the road map data 40 to correct the road shoulder lines and the lane markers, and thus can appropriately set non-road regions and the lane markers, whereby the lane polygon can be generated with higher accuracy.

System Configuration in Embodiment

The components of the road coordinate conversion device 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 are functional conceptual components and do not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated in the drawing. That is, the specific form of distribution and integration of the functions of the road coordinate conversion device 50 is not limited to the illustrated form, and the entirety or a portion of the form can be configured by being functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit, depending on various loads, usage conditions, and the like.

All or some types of processing performed by the road coordinate conversion device 50 may be implemented by a CPU and a program that is analyzed and executed by the CPU. The processing performed by the road coordinate conversion device 50 may be implemented as hardware based on a wired logic.

Further, all or some of the processing operations described as being automatically performed among the processing operations described in the embodiments may be manually performed. Alternatively, all or some of the processing operations described as being manually performed can be automatically performed using a publicly known method. In addition, the processing procedures, control procedures, specific names, and information including various types of data and parameters described and illustrated above can be appropriately changed unless otherwise specified.

Program

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary computer that executes a program to implement the road coordinate conversion device 50. A computer 1000 includes, for example, a memory 1010 and a CPU 1020. Further, the computer 1000 includes a hard disk drive interface 1030, a disk drive interface 1040, a serial port interface 1050, a video adapter 1060, and a network interface 1070. These units are connected by a bus 1080.

The memory 1010 includes a ROM 1011 and a RAM 1012. The ROM 1011 stores, for example, a boot program such as a basic input output system (BIOS). The hard disk drive interface 1030 is connected to a hard disk drive 1090. The disk drive interface 1040 is connected to a disk drive 1100. A removable storage medium such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, for example, is inserted into the disk drive 1100. The serial port interface 1050 is connected to, for example, a mouse 1110 and a keyboard 1120. The video adapter 1060 is connected to, for example, a display 1130.

The hard disk drive 1090 stores, for example, an operating system (OS) 1091, an application program 1092, a program module 1093, and program data 1094. That is, a program defining each processing of the road coordinate conversion device 50 is implemented as the program module 1093 in which a code executable by the computer 1000 is described. The program module 1093 is stored in, for example, the hard disk drive 1090. For example, the program module 1093 for executing the same processing as that performed by the functional configurations in the road coordinate conversion device 50 is stored in the hard disk drive 1090. Further, the hard disk drive 1090 may be replaced with a solid state drive (SSD).

Further, configuration data to be used in the processing of the embodiments described above is stored as the program data 1094 in, for example, the memory 1010 or the hard disk drive 1090. In addition, the CPU 1020 reads out and executes the program module 1093 or the program data 1094 stored in the memory 1010 or the hard disk drive 1090, as necessary, in the RAM 1012.

The program module 1093 and the program data 1094 are not necessarily stored in the hard disk drive 1090, and may be stored in, for example, a removable storage medium and be read out by the CPU 1020 through the disk drive 1100 or the like. Alternatively, the program module 1093 and the program data 1094 may be stored in other computers connected via a network (a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), or the like). In addition, the program module 1093 and the program data 1094 may be read by the CPU 1020 from another computer through the network interface 1070.

Although the embodiments to which the invention made by the present inventor is applied have been described above, the present invention is not limited by the description and the drawings which constitute a part of the disclosure of the present invention according to the embodiments. That is, other embodiments, examples, operation technologies, and the like made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments are all included in the scope of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   100 Communication system -   10 Spatiotemporal analysis application -   20 Road coordinate management system -   30 Road coordinate database (DB) -   40 Road map data -   50 Road coordinate conversion device -   51 Reception unit -   52 Lane polygon generation unit -   53 Mesh polygon generation unit -   54 Storage unit -   60 Spatiotemporal DB -   70 PIP processing module 

1. A generation device comprising: processing circuitry configured to: receive a plurality of inputs of road map data including longitude/latitude data on a road shoulder line and longitude/latitude data on a lane marker; and refer to the road map data, set a region surrounded by the road shoulder line to be a non-road region, and generate a first polygon indicating a lane region using data on two adjacent non-road regions and on a plurality of lane markers positioned between the two non-road regions.
 2. The generation device according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: generate a second polygon representing a spatial index, and store data on the second polygon and data on the first polygon corresponding to the second polygon in a road coordinate database in association with each other.
 3. The generation device according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine that a section between two adjacent road shoulder lines is a road when a distance between the two adjacent road shoulder lines is equal to or longer than a first distance, and determine that a section between two lane markers is a lane when a distance between the two lane markers is equal to or longer than a second distance.
 4. The generation device according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to combine endpoints of two adjacent road shoulder lines when a distance between the endpoints of the two adjacent road shoulder lines is equal to or shorter than a third distance, and combine endpoints of two adjacent lane markers when a distance between the endpoints of the two adjacent lane markers is equal to or shorter than a fourth distance.
 5. A generation method executed by a generation device, the generation method comprising: receiving a plurality of inputs of road map data including longitude/latitude data on a road shoulder line and longitude/latitude data on a lane marker; and referring to the road map data, setting a region surrounded by the road shoulder line to be a non-road region, and generating a first polygon indicating a shape of a lane using data on two adjacent non-road regions and on a plurality of lane markers positioned between the two non-road regions.
 6. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing therein a generation program that causes a computer to execute a process comprising: receiving a plurality of inputs of road map data including longitude/latitude data on a road shoulder line and longitude/latitude data on a lane marker; and referring to the road map data, setting a region surrounded by the road shoulder line to be a non-road region, and generating a first polygon indicating a shape of a lane using data on two adjacent non-road regions and on a plurality of lane markers positioned between the two non-road regions. 